A cynical view of current events in advertising

Isaiah Mustafa v. Terry Crews: Who Sold It Better?

By now, I’m sure everyone has seen Old Spice’s Smell Like a Man, Man campaign featuring NFL-practice-squad-receiver-turned-man-your-man-can-smell-like Isaiah Mustafa (That’s right. Break out your Silly Bandz. We’re gettin’ all 2010 up in this bitch). While they may have been overplayed, the commercials were just the right amount of weird to make them endearing and memorable without becoming annoying (see also: the family from the Honda Pilot commercial) and I think it’s safe to assume they’re on track to become some of the decade’s greatest.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Mustafa has moved on from Old Spice (at least temporarily) to pursue an acting career and left the reins in the Hulk-like hands of everyone’s favorite “that guy,” Terry Crews.

Their latest endeavor, Muscle Music, teams the behemoth of body wash with Vimeo to create an interactive campaign that, while hilarious, is just kind of bizarre. It lacks the quotability that made Smell Like a Man so popular in a society ruled by memes and tweets and, if not for the ever-present logo in the background, I’d have no idea what they were attempting to promote. What do you think? Did they miss the mark or has Old Spice created a procrastinator’s wet dream? Check out the video below or click HERE for the interactive version and, as always, comments are appreciated.